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mindingmypeas's review against another edition
4.0
I have to admit--it's been a long time since I read any middle grade fiction, but when I was approached by the author about reviewing this book, I was pretty excited about it. Even though it isn't a genre I read a lot of, I do have a younger brother and it's fun to be able to read/review books that he might enjoy. So, Sam, this one's for you ;)
As you can tell from the description, Winell Road is sci-fi, and there's quite a lot of aliens, and action/adventure going on. The plot moves along at a nice clip and there's not really any time to ever get bored with it. Jack is a pretty funny kid, and so there's a good bit of humor as well. Some of the humor was definitely geared towards middle grade boys (in my opinion), but hello, that's the target demographic. It was age appropriate, but not so middle-grade that an older person couldn't enjoy it.
The tone of the book was pretty casual and sometimes the dialogue felt rushed to me, but I really think that's just because I haven't read middle grade fiction in so long. It's an interesting lane between children's picture books and YA fiction, marked by mixing great, motive stories and a slightly easier reading level, and I think this book definitely accomplished that. Exciting adventure story and motive plot, but at a younger reading level.
I would definitely recommend this for the crowd of adventuresome 9-12 year olds, and I'm actually going to personally recommend it to my own 9yo brother. If there's a kid in your life who likes adventure stories, and maybe even some aliens (and let's face it, what kid doesn't?) this is the perfect book to get them reading over the holiday weekend.
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
As you can tell from the description, Winell Road is sci-fi, and there's quite a lot of aliens, and action/adventure going on. The plot moves along at a nice clip and there's not really any time to ever get bored with it. Jack is a pretty funny kid, and so there's a good bit of humor as well. Some of the humor was definitely geared towards middle grade boys (in my opinion), but hello, that's the target demographic. It was age appropriate, but not so middle-grade that an older person couldn't enjoy it.
The tone of the book was pretty casual and sometimes the dialogue felt rushed to me, but I really think that's just because I haven't read middle grade fiction in so long. It's an interesting lane between children's picture books and YA fiction, marked by mixing great, motive stories and a slightly easier reading level, and I think this book definitely accomplished that. Exciting adventure story and motive plot, but at a younger reading level.
I would definitely recommend this for the crowd of adventuresome 9-12 year olds, and I'm actually going to personally recommend it to my own 9yo brother. If there's a kid in your life who likes adventure stories, and maybe even some aliens (and let's face it, what kid doesn't?) this is the perfect book to get them reading over the holiday weekend.
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
kilbourneknight's review
5.0
Twelve-year-old Jack Mills is bored. He lives on Winell Road, the most boring street imaginable, with his boring parents, Mum (nosy and a horrible cook) and Dad (an inventor of totally useless gadgets), and a collection of odd-ball yet boring neighbors.
He’s bored, that is, until the day the glowing, silvery spaceship shows up overhead. Jack manages to escape being abducted by the alien craft, but he soon comes to the realization that he’s the only one who has actually seen it. His close encounter turns even more bizarre when Jack finds himself involved in a desperate mission to recover a stolen piece of alien technology, with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance.
Kate Foster’s WINELL ROAD—BENEATH THE SURFACE flawlessly combines fantastical science fiction, heart-pounding adventure, sinister mystery, and a large helping of humor. Foster has crafted a charming and inventive MG novel that will keep readers of all ages turning the pages as breathlessly as did I. I can’t reveal much of the story itself without dealing out major spoilers, so suffice it to say Foster’s characterizations are spot-on, her scenes both evocative and hair-raising, and her plot twists marvelously handled. For WINELL ROAD is ultimately a story of secrets, and Jack’s efforts to unravel them in order to save himself, his family, his new friend Roxy, and just possibly the galaxy from the clutches of a host of aliens who have descended on Winell Road, the most boring place in the known universe.
Jack is an engaging protagonist--clever, spunky, loyal, and determined, yet filled with all the self-doubts, foibles, and questions lurking in every twelve-year-old boy. In Jack, Kate Foster achieves a marvelous MG voice that impels the reader on to follow along on his quest to save the galaxy. And although the reader may think s/he see’s things that Jack doesn’t and guess the final plot twist, that twist will leave even the most jaded gasping in surprise and wanting more of Jack’s adventures.
WINELL ROAD—BENEATH THE SURFACE is an excellent first outing from Kate Foster. It ticked all my boxes nicely—voice, characterization and plotting--and I anticipate her next venture, hopefully back into the world of Jack and his friends, will be better still.
He’s bored, that is, until the day the glowing, silvery spaceship shows up overhead. Jack manages to escape being abducted by the alien craft, but he soon comes to the realization that he’s the only one who has actually seen it. His close encounter turns even more bizarre when Jack finds himself involved in a desperate mission to recover a stolen piece of alien technology, with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance.
Kate Foster’s WINELL ROAD—BENEATH THE SURFACE flawlessly combines fantastical science fiction, heart-pounding adventure, sinister mystery, and a large helping of humor. Foster has crafted a charming and inventive MG novel that will keep readers of all ages turning the pages as breathlessly as did I. I can’t reveal much of the story itself without dealing out major spoilers, so suffice it to say Foster’s characterizations are spot-on, her scenes both evocative and hair-raising, and her plot twists marvelously handled. For WINELL ROAD is ultimately a story of secrets, and Jack’s efforts to unravel them in order to save himself, his family, his new friend Roxy, and just possibly the galaxy from the clutches of a host of aliens who have descended on Winell Road, the most boring place in the known universe.
Jack is an engaging protagonist--clever, spunky, loyal, and determined, yet filled with all the self-doubts, foibles, and questions lurking in every twelve-year-old boy. In Jack, Kate Foster achieves a marvelous MG voice that impels the reader on to follow along on his quest to save the galaxy. And although the reader may think s/he see’s things that Jack doesn’t and guess the final plot twist, that twist will leave even the most jaded gasping in surprise and wanting more of Jack’s adventures.
WINELL ROAD—BENEATH THE SURFACE is an excellent first outing from Kate Foster. It ticked all my boxes nicely—voice, characterization and plotting--and I anticipate her next venture, hopefully back into the world of Jack and his friends, will be better still.
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